Be prepared
by Pete Talbot
Nothing about this video makes me happy. The challenger isn’t prepared. The press, for better or worse, isn’t there. The ineffective incumbent shows better organization.
We’ll see clips from this event over-and-over.
Democratic candidate for Congress, Dennis McDonald, had a decent plan to confront Republican incumbent Denny Rehberg in Billings Missoula. With a mop and pail as props, he and some staffers went to Rehberg’s office. He’d also alerted the media and others.
Rehberg’s staff was ready.
One young, bordering on obnoxious, Rehberg staffer grilled McDonald. But McDonald’s response was weak — he wasn’t ready — it turned into a circus. Everything about this video is wrong:
(Update: I almost didn’t post this clip. I know McDonald, somewhat, and personally like the guy. I like that he came out early for single-payer and seems to have a progressive streak, maybe more so than current Montana Democratic leadership.
A story today by Lee’s Charles Johnson gives some good background on McDonald. In it, a colleague of McDonald’s is quoted as saying that McDonald is “a very effective litigator … a very good trial lawyer before a jury.” Then why did he let a punk staffer from Rehberg’s office manhandle him so? I mean, Rehberg is so vulnerable on so many issues — he’s done nothing in 10 years in office except support George W. Bush’s disastrous administration — so why not attack back? There’s always drunken boating; that would have shut the kid up.
It also got me wondering how Gopher or Gernant would have handled the same situation.
Anyway, I ended up posting it not to embarrass McDonald but because A) it’s already out there in the ‘sphere, and B) to show how NOT to respond to an ambush by Rehberg or his ilk.)
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May 2, 2010 at 6:53 am
that as just… painful. Talk about a complete backfire. Not only didn’t McDonald engage Rehberg or the Rehberg campaign, he fell prey to his own campaign.
Moorcat
May 3, 2010 at 4:21 pm
Moorcat is right, his campaign, and the Democrats screwed him here: http://www.leftinthewest.com/diary/4076/why-dont-democrats-ever-do-this
May 3, 2010 at 5:05 pm
it is mcdonald’s campaign to run as he sees fit. nobody screwed mcdonald here except mcdonald.
if anything sticks in my craw it’s when some sorry outfit like mcdonald blames others for his own campaign’s shortcomings.
that speaks to me of someone with no character at all.
if i were ranch foreman of the democratic party i would walk down to the bunk house and tell mcdonald he can go on down to the main house and collect his check.
he’s finished in this state.
May 2, 2010 at 10:23 am
Got more chuckles than the last post.
May 2, 2010 at 12:44 pm
McDonald seems…um…slow.
May 2, 2010 at 1:41 pm
toldja.
and tyler will seem like he is – an affable well meaning tax attorney who will look like a wimp.
the only democratic candidate with any hope of engaging rehberg with power is gopher. she can challenge him.
May 2, 2010 at 1:42 pm
above should say….toldja, ‘mcdonald is a hapless clown….’
May 2, 2010 at 2:30 pm
‘Painful’ is right…almost couldn’t watch the entire thing, but felt compelled, like having to gawk at a bad wreck as you drive past, even while knowing you’re going to see something you really don’t want to see. Ouch.
May 2, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Well, I guess McDonald had his “Macaca” moment (well, if you define a moment as 8 minutes of pure torture).
He gave the republicans enough material to launch a tv ad campaign the day after the primaries to tank any hope he has in a general.
Maybe he’ll spare us all by bowing out and let Gernant and Gopher get on with the primary. Maybe the dem party will look at this and read the writing on the wall, and pull the plug on him, loyalty be damned. Maybe he’ll win the primary and lose about 65-35 to Rehberg.
May 2, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Chris certainly seemed a lot more prepared to ask the questions than McDonald was to answer them. I would have expected the trial lawyer McDonald to react a little faster and better. Sure glad I never needed him to defend me – hopefully he won’t represent me (or anyone else) in DC!
May 3, 2010 at 8:15 am
Ah, an insider responds — Mike knows the name of the questioner. I have even more contempt for a Rehberg staffer who ambushes a candidate than I do the hapless interviewee.
As I’ve said before, let’s talk issues, not personal history.
Do you think Rehberg responding to a barrage of questions about boating drunk would be any more appealing or informative than McDonald’s response to “mafia ties?”
May 3, 2010 at 8:56 am
It doesn’t matter if Rehberg’s response would have been any better. McDonald showed up at their door and got his ass handed to him. Fair play. It’s a contact sport.
May 3, 2010 at 9:09 am
I hear you, Cookie, but don’t you get tired of “gotcha” politics?
May 3, 2010 at 9:54 am
I don’t mind it, because I don’t pay much attention to it. If people make their decisions based on what the campaigns feed them, then I blame the voters, not the politicians. I’d say the campaigns and govt we have in this country are a pretty accurate reflection of society: geared to the lowest common denominator.
May 3, 2010 at 11:56 am
rehberg knows that the best defense is a good offense….
better find someone who thinks likewise or dems lose this one again.
May 2, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Dennis McDonald is unelectable. Between this and his mob lawyering (and he’s flip-flopped on that story too, believe it or not), Democrats will be shredded to wheat if he survives the primary.
You are right Pete – McDonald is supposed to be some trial attorney. That should mean that you can think on your feet. Instead, he just stands there, holding the mop, and turning away to call the media to see if they are coming.
(Which is an Einstein move, in and of itself, considering the spectacle laid out on the video.)
Gernant has continually gone after Rehberg on his policies and his record. He’s very forceful and direct when he talks about the failures of Rehberg. He knows that changes need to be made to tax laws and policies that protect corporations and decimate our middle class, and that is what Gernant represents – common sense leadership for Montanan’s, at a time when common sense is sorely needed in Washington.
I appreciate Gopher. She has passion, and she clearly inspires…hell, I do love to hear her speak. In another time and place, circumstances might be different for me – but this time around, Gernant has my vote.
May 2, 2010 at 5:55 pm
this is just a sorry exhibition by any standard of objective reasoning. mcdonald should save himself and his party the humiliation and step out of the race while he still has a shred of pride left. this is pathetic.
i cannot imagine how mcdonald could defend himself in a full blown debate with anyone. he looks like a muttering fool/weasel who can’t even look anyone in the eye.
my god. where are the mike halligans and the real democratic candidates from legislative posts who are ready for this race?
this is embarrassing beyond words ability to relate.
May 2, 2010 at 7:00 pm
“… he looks like a muttering fool/weasel who can’t even look anyone in the eye.”
Dear Friends at 4 & 20:
This is not the first time I have found it necessary to lodge a complaint with your usually outstanding progressive blog.
For your edification, the earliest mustelids appeared during the early Oligocene Epoch, roughly 35 million years ago; we have been around for a very long time. Mustelids are fearless carnivores; the smallest is the least weasel, weighing 1.2 to 2.4 ounces; the biggest is the South American giant otter, weighing 60-90 pounds. We are intelligent, efficient, and adaptable survivors. To compare us in any manner whatsoever to Dennis McDonald–or ANY human politician, for that matter–is an insult of the highest order. Please cease and desist from further maligning of the weasel family. Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
P. Marten, Mustelid Civil Liberties Union
http://www.flickr.com/groups/mustelidsoftheworld/pool/
May 2, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Marten’s got a point there…
May 2, 2010 at 10:20 pm
always look forward to a visit from the MCLU. great stuff!
May 3, 2010 at 8:20 am
My apologies to MCLU, and I will endeavor to keep any anti-weasel references from future posts and comments.
May 3, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Oh people, some of you need to get off your high horses. You know full well that if that had been Rehberg stuttering like a nervous 13 year old on a first date, you’d be relishing every second!
May 3, 2010 at 3:00 pm
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
May 3, 2010 at 5:06 pm
What you all fail to grasp is that it will never be Richy Rehberg caught like this. Rehberg’s political style is completely different. Let me lay this out for you.
1) Richy Rehberg has money. This is no surprise to all of you, but you fail to grasp the implications. He doesn’t have to engage in person with anyone and he certainly can afford to pay someone to engage people like McDonald for him.
2) Richy Rehberg’s strategy is to NOT engage any challengers. Why should he? He has a comfortable lead in the polls, he has name recognition, he is the imcumbant and he already has the position. He does nothing that is too controversial and when something does happen (read – boat accident), the has a paid and unpaid spin machine to deal with it. He doesn’t stick his neck out, he doesn’t pander to the press (like Burns) and therefore isn’t seen doing anything that will lose him votes. He has massive support from corporate interests and has the money to keep him positively in the light for ads and sound bites. For a man that does little to nothing in Congress, he can be made to appear caring and sensitive to the needs of Montana.
McDonald tanked himself here, make no mistake but he was not a serious threat to Rehberg.
Moorcat
May 3, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Quit going all Mark T. on us. This post wasn’t about Rehberg’s riches. Most of us are very well aware of that and it’s implications. This post was precisely about how McDonald tanked himself.
May 3, 2010 at 5:44 pm
One could say that McDonald tanked himself when he decided to walk down the street to Rehberg’s office with a mop. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Everything after that was just icing on the stupid cake.
May 4, 2010 at 5:54 am
Sorry if I sounded like Mark T.. That certainly wasn’t my intension. I stand by my statement, though, that no one will be a threat to Rehberg until they can actively engage him. McDonald failed to do that. Instead, McDonald fell prey to a person far more prepared than he was long before he ever got into a position to engage Rehberg.
While Rehberg’s riches (and the implications) are well known, it doesn’t seem that anyone can counter that fact. It certainly hasn’t hurt him so far.
I actively supported Monica Lindeen when she ran against Rehberg in the last election. She was a smart, honest business woman that seems to want to actively work toward progress for Montana and the Country. While left leaning, she showed not only a willingness to be fiscally responcible, she was able to demonstrate the traits that proved she could be fiscally responcible.
Rehberg shut her out by not engaging her (or the press). There was no “story” to follow, so the press spent thier time running page after page about Burns putting his foot in his mouth. Rehberg defeated Lindeen by refusing to campaign against her.. he did the same thing he does in Congress.. nothing.
Moorcat
May 4, 2010 at 8:48 am
Moorcat, you idiot: Your brother’s comment was a compliment. I am the only one who seems to understand the meaning of the phrase “much ado about nothing.”
May 3, 2010 at 10:05 pm
“Dennis McDonald is unelectable.”
I thought that about the guy with the knit suit and the beauty schools who quit in the middle of his United States Senate race, but there he is, on the PSC.
Weasels have been trapped and skinned in Montana for a long time.
May 3, 2010 at 11:24 pm
Doc, are you referring to Mike Taylor, who lost to Ken Toole in the PSC race? Am I missing something here?
May 6, 2010 at 7:07 pm
“I have even more contempt for a Rehberg staffer who ambushes a candidate than I do the hapless interviewee.”
Actually Pete, McDonald is the one who was trying to ambush Rehberg by showing up on Denny’s door step trying to attract the media. The college Republicans and staffers just did a better job of defense.
This isn’t the only video of McDonald looking like the slowest student in the classroom. Here is McDonalds attempt to ambush Denny’s office in Billings.
Didn’t work out well for him there either. Lots of questions from multiple people and McDonald trying to hide behind his dust mop. At least in this video McDonald makes it clear just where he is from. Not Montana. Not California. He says he is “actually from Kansas”.
McDonald is digging his own grave in this election.
May 6, 2010 at 8:56 pm
that’s pretty embarrassing alright pogo. of course, the bar is set pretty high in politics these days in that regard….
May 8, 2010 at 8:43 am
Oh boy. That certainly is painful.
So she was for the bailout before she was against it? She was for health reform before she was against it?
Scary, scary person, that Palin woman.
May 8, 2010 at 9:26 am
Excuse me? Did we have “health care reform”? I see where the Democrats pushed a bill through, but I don’t see much reform. Just an insurance company Christmas tree full of goodies for them.
Wait, hold it! You must be a Democrat. OK, I get it now. Yes we did. Dammit. Yes we did. Keep telling yourself that. Put the goddam bumper stick on your car. Yes we did. Yes we did. Yes we did. Yes we did …